Harry Potter and the Unfolding Secrets
by maddiesmom0515
Summary: My version of book 7. My first fanfic, so please be nice. R&R. PostHBP HG & RHr
1. Chapter 1

It had been a fortnight since Harry Potter had said goodbye to his mentor, friend, and Headmaster. Since the early release of school, Harry had been doing only one thing: preparing for battle. He had been trying to keep busy so that he didn't have to think about Professor Dumbledore being murdered.

Harry had fallen asleep in his bedroom at Privet Drive while drawing plans for his summer. Fortunately, Remus Lupin helped Harry devise a piece of parchment that was similar to the Marauders map. That way, only the people that knew the pass code, Horcrux hunt in action, could see the plans. The fact that very few people knew that they were going to actually _go_ on a horcrux hunt helped even more.

At half past four, Harry awoke with a start. His pain in his scar had only been worse since the attack on Hogwarts. Harry could only assume that Voldemort was angry at Draco or another random Death Eater, and every time his scar hurt, they were being punished.

The next morning, at 7:30, Aunt Petunia came knocking on Harry's door. After Harry had dressed, he opened the door. "It's not like you to wait for me" he said.

"Well, there is something I would like to discuss with you."

"And that is?"

"Well, your mother left something in the possession of Professor Dumbledore. He gave it to me to pass on to you when you turned 17."

"You? Why would Professor Dumbledore give something to _you_ for me?"

"I am not quite sure Harry, but since I am sure you will be leaving the minute you turn 17, I wanted to give it to you now."

"It didn't have to be this way, you know."

"I know, but it is too late to change that now."

Aunt Petunia and Harry looked awkwardly at the floor for a few moments before Harry finally interrupted the silence. "So, what is it you have to give me?"

Aunt Petunia handed Harry a small package and said, "Professor Dumbledore left this in the letter he sent to me the night he left you on our doorstep. I am not sure what it is, but he said that Sirius found it. I do know that it belonged to your mother. Take care Harry, and I hope you know that I do love you. I have tried to treat you the best that I could without your Uncle Vernon finding out."

"Thank you for taking me in. I know it could not have been easy on you to hide the fact that you loved someone. I do not forgive Uncle Vernon for his ignorance or Dudley for his violence, but I do forgive you for your neglect."

Aunt Petunia turned to walk out the door with a tear in her eye, but stiffened as Harry said, "By the way, if you go into Dudley's room, behind his TV and in the third drawer from the bottom, you will find a bottle of whiskey, a stack of dirty magazines, cigarettes, drugs, and about $2000 that he has stolen from you or the neighbors around you. I know that you and Uncle Vernon have thought about confronting me about this, so I thought I should let you know that it was your precious Dudley that has them."

"How could you know all that?"

"Let's just say that my 'freak' side helped me out a bit."

"But you are not allowed to use magic. I thought"

She was cut off by Harry shaking his head and smiling, "This kind of magic" Petunia flinched, "is used without a wand. I have had to practice this relentlessly over the summer, and I needed someone to practice on. Relax, I know nothing too revealing. I know only your thoughts about me and your garden. Hey, I needed something a little brighter than how much Uncle Vernon hates me" he said as he closed the door.

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**A/N: This is my first fanfic. I need reviews to know if I should continue. If I do continue, the story will get better. I may need a beta if I go on, so let me know what you think out there!!! **


	2. Chapter 2

The next few weeks at Privet Drive passed quite smoothly. Because of his aunt's newfound respect of him as a young man, he was able to relax and do as he wished while he waited for his 17th birthday. As his birthday drew closer, Harry couldn't help but feel excited. He was finally going to be an adult. No one could pass him off as a little kid anymore. Maybe now, he would learn all the secrets about him and his parents that had been kept from him. The most exciting part was that Harry never again had to return to Privet Drive. His plans said that he was going to stay with the Weasleys until the day after Fleur and Bill's wedding. Ron, Hermione, and him were going to give Mrs. Weasley time to cool down after the excitement of the wedding. They were going to wait until everyone had gone to bed and sneak out the night after the wedding.

Unfortunately, those plans went down the drain the day he got a letter saying that Hogwarts was going to remain open to all who wished to return. When Harry first read the letter, he just tossed it aside. As soon as he did that, he picked it back up. He was staring confoundedly at the name on the bottom when another owl came in with a letter from Hermione on it. A few minutes later, Harry had collected his thoughts. He was about to sit down to read Hermione's letter when a letter came from Ron attached to his owl, Pig. Pig seemed intent on staying until Harry was ready to reply to Ron's letter, so Harry put him in Hedwig's cage.

Harry sat down at his desk and finally read Hermione's letter.

Harry,

Did you get your Hogwarts letter yet? I am sure you did. We really should go back. Don't you think? Please, Harry. I didn't want to abandon my studies, and this news makes it so much more prudent that we return. I hope the letter changed your mind, and I am sure that Ron agrees with me. See you soon!

Hermione

Harry finished the eager sounding letter. He figured he would read Ron's letter first, and then reply to both at the same time. He picked up Ron's letter, and read.

Harry,

Have you read your Hogwarts letter? Can we please go back? I know Hermione is going to want to, and we really should show our support. Plus, at Hogwarts, we have a lot more people that can help us. I am sure McGonagall will let us leave if we need to, as long as we are not gone too long. Write back and let me know what you think.

Ron

P.S.: Write to Ginny. She really misses you. She is not angry or hurt. She understands why you ended it.

At this last bit, Harry paused. He decided to write to Ginny after he replied to Hermione and Ron. He wanted to start with Hermione.

Hermione,

I have to think about it. The Hogwarts letter sure made me think about our plans, but I am not sure. I will write to McGonagall and see what she thinks about letting us leave sometimes to search for Horcruxes. Of course, I will not tell her why we are leaving, but I will come up with something. Let me know if you have an idea.

Harry

Then, he went to writing his letter to Ron.

Ron,

I know you are excited about what you read in the Hogwarts letter, but we can't just jump up and change all the plans we have worked on. I already wrote to Hermione. I told her that I will write to McGonagall and see if she will let us leave if the need arises.

On a lighter note, my Aunt Petunia realized what a gentleman I have become. The entire family has left me alone since Aunt Petunia and I had a long talk. I will see you soon!

Harry

Harry couldn't decide whether he wanted to write to Ginny yet or not. It wasn't that he didn't like her, because he did, very much so. He just didn't want her to get hurt. He knew that the closer people were to him, the more likely they were to be targeted by Voldemort.

After a long debate with himself, Harry decided to write to Ginny. At the very least, he didn't want Ginny to think he hated her. He hoped they would still have a chance if he survived the Final Battle with Voldemort.

His letter to Ginny was written over 15 times, but when Harry finally finished, it looked like this:

Ginny,

I am relieved to hear that you understand my reasoning. Please know that I never wanted to hurt you. I hope we can still be friends. I want you to know that you are always in my heart, no matter what happens. Be safe, and I will see you soon.

Love,

Harry

When Harry finished the letters, he sent Ron and Ginny's with Pig, and he sent Hermione's with the owl that she sent her letter with. Finally, he sent McGonagall a letter saying that him, Ron, and Hermione had talked and would return to Hogwarts on the condition that they are allowed to leave at short intervals when they needed to with no questions asked. He also congratulated her on her appointment as Headmistress.

Before Harry went to sleep, he looked at the letter from Hogwarts one more time. His final thought before drifting off to sleep was _Hagrid as Deputy Headmaster… wow._

**A/N: I worked on this all day. The chapters should get longer as they go, but as they do, I may not update quite as fast as I did on this one.**


	3. Author Note

Well, I started writing this story in high school. It is now 3 ½ years since I graduated, and I am just now able to start writing again. Life has thrown me some hard balls, but I have worked most of it out. I just wanted to let anyone that read this story a long time ago that I have started writing it again. I will post a very long overdue chapter in the next day or two. Hopefully, it will be long enough to sustain you until the next time I update, which I promise will not be another 3 years!


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